tember 12, 7:30pm. For tickets, go to www.kerrypatrickclark.com/shows kerrypatrickclark.com/shows have become homeless due to 853 natural disasters since 1980; to be more specifi c, the average number of people that become homeless as a result of a single natural disaster is 765. In Canada, for comparison, around 20,000 have become homeless as a result of 65 total natural disasters; the average number of people that become homeless in Canada as a result of a single natural disaster is 320. These numbers are based on available data and are likely undercounting individuals that are homeless. The United States experiences natural disasters at a higher frequency and is less prepared to relocate and rehouse its citizens after disasters. Outside of the hundreds of thousands of displaced families, the fi nancial burden of disasters is immense. Fiscal damages caused by natural disasters are steadily increasing over time and the exponential burden can only be curbed by immediate adoption of sustainable practices and renewable resources. The United States, and the entire world, needs to face facts: we are simultaneously living through a climate crisis and a housing crisis, the two of which are inextricably linked. More refugees, specifi cally climate refugees, will come from poverty stricken, disaster ridden countries. Families and children will indiscriminately be at risk of homelessness due to events outside of human control. Structural and social factors such as poverty, class, and racism have a compounding factor: the less resources one has at their disposal, the more likely they are to become homeless after a disaster. Similarly, our already unsheltered neighbors will be far more affected by disasters. If we don’t improve our disaster relief systems and curb climate change immediately, it will be too late to protect the homeless and the countless at risk of becoming so. Kathryn McKelvey is a homeless advocate for change, working in analytics. Analyses of interest are primarily those surrounding housing and healthcare. She wrangles two toddlers, not only just in her spare time, but all the time due to the COVID-19 stay at home orders, and attends OHSU’s School of Public Health, pursuing her Masters in Public Health in Health Systems Management and Policy. Follow Kathryn McKelvey on Twitter @KatMcKelvey. Courtesy of INSP.ngo Page 9
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